A small faction of officials at Forever 21 Inc. has asked its biggest landlords if they’d consider taking a stake in the clothing retailer, as the company’s leadership battles internally about how to turn around the struggling store chain, Bloomberg News reported. The group, which didn’t have the backing of the company’s co-founder, talked to Simon Property Group Inc. and Brookfield Property Partners LP about a range of options including a sale. A rival set of officials, aligned with co-founder Do Won Chang, has opposed any such deal with landlords as Chang wants to preserve control over the empire that made him a billionaire. A representative for Forever 21 said that the company hasn’t had talks with landlords outside of rent negotiations.
